Palestinian reconciliation talks must end national division: Hamas

  Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas political bureau, said in a press release on Monday that dialog should also “lead to restoring prestige to the Palestinian national project and reaching an agreement on a political program capable of standing in the face of attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause.” “Hamas is open to inclusive dialog that leads to arranging our internal house, ending the division, establishing a political system based on the principle of political partnership and pluralism and on respecting our people’s will.” Haniyeh also said dialog had been the result of efforts by Hamas and other Palestinian factions over the past few months. “The Cairo dialog is the culmination of an effective process that began months ago, during which we worked together with the brothers in the Fatah movement and all the factions.”  A high-level delegation from Hamas led by the deputy head of its political bureau, Saleh al-Aruri, arrived in Cairo on Sunday to participate in national talks. The Palestinian leadership has been divided between Fatah and Hamas since 2006 when the latter scored a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in the besieged Gaza Strip.  Palestinians have unified at a time when the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and some other Arab rulers have signed normalization agreements, brokered by Washington, with Israel. To Palestinians, the deals will not undermine their resolve to achieve independence and end the Israeli occupation. At the end of the day, Israel is the joint enemy of both Fatah and Hamas. Many say politics might have sometimes divided Palestinians in the past, but when it comes to the real battle on the ground, they get united against their joint enemy.